


Inventors Daughter

by PeachyKeener



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst!, BUT ENDGAME? AND IW? NEVER HAPPENED, F/F, HATE THAT SHIT, Harley Keener is a Good Bro, M/M, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Song fic, This is crack taken seriously, Tony Stark is a Good Dad, also minor lila abbie character study, fluff!, my crack ship?? getting taken seriously?? yuh, oh baby this fic has it all, romeo and juliet who?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-15 22:47:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21025991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeachyKeener/pseuds/PeachyKeener
Summary: Abigail rolled her eyes, “Dude, if you’re not gonna kill me or tell me who you are, you mind at least kissing me so I can have that real fanfic experience?”“Kill you,” Lila laughed, unexpectedly, because holy fuck, this beautiful girl just told her to kiss her- and oh no Lila was pinning her to the wall. “Why would I kill a pretty thing like you?”“Well,” Abigail flushed, hand coming up to tap at the knife on her throat. “This makes me a little tad bit nervous.”--Romeo and Juliet but no one dies and its between two teen girls who just so happen to be the daughters of the avengers. Ft. Harley as a veryoverprotective and begrudgeing brother and Peter as abbie's main go to for sneaking out





	Inventors Daughter

**Author's Note:**

> THIS IS PURE CRACCCK 
> 
> THIS IS CRACK TREATED SERIOUSLY 
> 
> please,,,,, please,,, support my dumbass oc x oc ship, please... im begging you 
> 
> (yes i know lila isnt technially an oc but we know nothing about her)

_ I fell for the inventor's daughter _

_ When I chased my silver dollar _

_ Down the hill and onto her father's basement porch _

  


What Lila was doing wasn’t technically _ illegal. _ Okay, well- technically it was _ very _ illegal. But it also shouldn’t have been very illegal at all. After all, her dad _ used _ to be an Avenger, and if that whole stupid _ civil war _thing hadn’t happened, what she would be doing wouldn’t be considered illegal. 

But the civil war did happen. And her dad was still on the run- her family was lucky enough to have an untraceable phone, something they could use to contact him. Essentially, her family was making the most out of an extremely shitty situation. 

Either way though, breaking into the compound to steal back Aunty Nat’s stuff wouldn’t have been illegal if she was an official daughter of an Official Avenger who had an official room in the Official Avengers compound where she could’ve just walked in and grabbed Aunty Nat’s old favorite necklace and walked out. It should’ve been her right. Ergo, right now, what she was doing wasn’t technically illegal. 

So what she had to disable the compounds AI and Security system to do it? At most that was retribution. 

Besides she doubted _ anyone _ lived in the compound anymore, after all. There were no real new Avengers besides people who had other places to live. Tony- that pretentious twat that had supported the accords- was staying in Stark Tower. Spider-Man- whoever _ he _was- was located surely and squarely in New York. Rhodes was off doing military things. Dr. Strange was probably at Hogwarts, and Iron Lad only really started showing up near MIT and New York, so he was probably at one of the two. Ergo, no one was at the compound. 

“Um,” a soft voice from her right said, “Not to be rude, but who are you?” 

Lila startled, grabbing the knife from her back pocket and pinned the other girl to the wall in a smooth action. Staring at her, she recognized this girl from the cover of magazines. This was Abigail Stark, adopted daughter of Tony Stark, except- except she was breathtaking and nothing like the photos. 

In the photos, she didn’t have glasses, and her hair was pressed straight. She was in new clothes and looked like a movie star. Right now, however, she was staring at Lila with wide blue eyes, thick rimmed glasses- with _ so many freckles _that Lila couldn’t breathe. Her curly, frizzy, almost unkempt hair was in a ponytail, and she stood almost half a head shorter than Lila. She had dark bags under her eyes, and a split lip, and oh god she was breathtakingly beautiful and this was not what Lila’s poor gay heart needed tonight. 

Abigail rolled her eyes, “Dude, if you’re not gonna kill me or tell me who you are, you mind at least kissing me so I can have that real fanfic experience?” 

“Kill you,” Lila laughed, unexpectedly, because holy fuck, this beautiful girl just told her to kiss her- and oh no Lila was pinning her to the wall. “Why would I kill a pretty thing like you?” 

“Well,” Abigail flushed, hand coming up to tap at the knife on her throat. “This makes me a little tad bit nervous.”

Lila stepped back, placing the knife in her back pocket. “What are you doing here, Abigail Stark? I thought you’d be at Stark Tower like your father.”

“Well you see…” She winced, hand coming to tap at her neck. “As much as I love Tony, I really don’t like New York City. Besides, it’s usually not just me- Harley is usually here too, but he went to go visit his boyfriend in NYC. You just happened to catch the compound on a night where it really is just me here.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” She shrugged, before pausing. “I prefer Abbie Keener, by the way. So what are you here to steal?”

“Why would I be here to steal something?” 

“You’re dressed like a ninja and you have a knife. You didn’t know I was in the compound, and judging by your reaction, you didn’t know I was here tonight so, what are you here to steal?” 

Lila hesitated hard. Abbie Keener was hot and observant, and Lila was very, very, very gay. Whatever. Might as well give it all up, because something told her that Abbie wasn’t likely to care. “My Aunt Nat had a necklace she was gonna give me when I turned sixteen. I’m sixteen, and I want it.” 

“Aunt Nat- Wait,” Abbie paused, brow furrowing, her head tilting slightly in a motion that made Lila’s mind go blank with how cute it was. “Who are you?” 

“Fuck it- you’re not gonna rat me out to your dad are you?” 

“Nah.” 

“My name’s Lila… Lila Barton.” 

Abbie’s eyes got a bright gleam in it, and she broke out in a grin. “You’re the hawkdaughter!” 

“The- the what?” 

“The hawkdaughter.” She stepped towards Lila, pulling her close- which. Lila tried to ignore how soft Abbie’s hands were, but was finding it so hard, especially because she could _ feel _how warm Abbie was now that she had stepped closer, “I’m the irondaughter and you’re the hawkdaughter! This is great- I- I’d been meaning to reach out- you know, start a ‘teen daughters of superheroes’ club or something!”

Lila bit back a grin, because _ fuck _Abbie Keener was cute. She was adorable and over excited, but- blind to reality it seems, “Oh I doubt your dad would ever let you do that.” 

“Tony’s not the boss of me.” She shrugged, grin still on her face, pressing herself slightly closer. “Now come on, I demand you let me get you some ice cream before you go take your necklace.” 

“You- hold on,” Lila gripped Abbie’s wrist tightly, trying to discourage the girl from pressing herself any closer to the would-be assassin because Lila _ really _couldn’t function with a pretty girl pressed to her side. “You’re just okay with sharing ice cream with a girl who broke into your house?”

“Wouldn’t be the weirdest thing I’ve done.” She glanced at Lila, wide blue eyes punching holes in her heart as Abbie-motherfucking-Keener grinned cutely, “What’s you’re favorite kind of ice cream?” 

“Uh- Mint chocolate chip.” 

“Oh we definitely have that,” She grinned, walking forward, subtly leading Lila- not that Lila minded. She kind of enjoyed the view of Abbie Keener walking around in her pajama shorts, “That’s Harley’s favorite flavor- though it drives his boyfriend absolutely crazy, because he can’t _ stand _any kind of mint flavor. It’s actually pretty comical.”

“You _ are _a weird one aren’t you. You’re just out here telling a strange girl your secrets.” 

Abbie paused, her steps becoming lighter as if she were a princess sneaking around in her own castle. “Should I not be?” 

“No,” Lila’s mouth quirked up, giving a crooked grin that she really shouldn’t be giving to the daughter of the man who was directly responsible for her own father's exile, “You shouldn’t be.” 

“Well, I am. Let me get you some ice cream and we can talk more.” 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” 

“Come on,” Abbie pouted, “Just one bowl? No talking even necessary.” 

“Well…” 

“It’s good though!”

Lila shook her head, “Sorry, princess, as much as I appreciate the offer, but I’m here for the necklace, nothing else.” 

“Princess?” Abbie’s cheeks flushed bright crimson, and Lila marveled at how the blush drowned out her freckles. “Bit ambitious for a girl who just met me. And refuses to eat ice cream with me.” 

“Says the girl who invited a girl who broke into her house for ice cream.” And damn, did Lila want to take that invitation and get ice cream with this girl who Lila was now convinced, was her dream girl. But she couldn’t. She had a mission to fulfill. 

“Touché, I guess.” Abbie tightened her grip on Lila’s hand, pulling a tad bit closer. “Are you sure you can’t take just a second before leaving?” 

Lila pulled her hand out of Abbie’s grasp instead of answering, walking towards the direction she knew Nat’s room was in, “See you around.” 

She pretended she didn’t hear Abbie’s soft exhale of ‘hopefully.’ She kind of knew if she did, she’d go and do something ridiculously stupid. Like press Abbie Keener to a wall and make out with her, finding out if she tasted like the mint ice cream she was offering. Maybe if she was lucky she’d get a feel on those damned pajama shorts. Maybe she’d be able to get a hand in her curls- nope. She couldn’t go down that road. 

She had a necklace to find. 

And plus, she had a feeling she’d be back. 

  


_ I fell for her blurry eyes _

_ When my tongue was numb and my shoes untied _

_ With her hand held closed in the yellow light _

_ On her father's basement porch _

  


Logically, Lila knew she was being an idiot. 

It wasn’t like she could keep breaking into the compound just because a pretty girl was there- she was eventually going to get caught. But it was just like- Abbie was a breath of fresh air compared to the rest of the world, if she was honest. Her kindness- her laughter- her smile- it _ did _things to Lila. It make her go weak in the knees. 

In the past few months, they had become _ more _ than strangers. They’d become _ friends _. Well- 

Lila kind of wanted them to become more. Though that was a dangerous thought process, considering the fact that, yeah, she still hated Stark for taking her dad away and no doubtedly Abbie has her own issues with her dad’s team. But she wanted _ more _. It didn’t help that Abbie was absolutely stunning and perfect and practically Lila’s dream girl. 

But ultimately it was too dangerous for her to actually make a move on Abbie. Not just for the fact that Abbie was a _ Stark- _ but for the fact that Lila was a dangerous person. She didn’t want to admit it, but being trained by two assassins since the time she was old enough to ask if she could fight definitely gave her a menacing edge that Lila genuinely didn’t know if Abbie could handle. If Abbie would want to handle that. 

She wasn’t even going to _ think _ about the fact that she’d been _ technically _moonlighting as a vigilante and gaining enemies who would already love to exploit Stark by hurting Abbie, and would enjoy it even more if they knew how much Lila cared about the other girl. 

These thoughts did not stop her from breaking into the compound at every single chance she could get. 

She had long since stopped disabling Jocasta too, after Abbie had assured her that the bot didn’t care, so long as Lila didn’t try to steal anything of real true value to Tony. Abbie and the A.I. had seemingly worked out something like a deal so that neither would tell Tony about Lila’s little visits- because for all of Abbie’s innocence, even she realized that telling her father that Lila was breaking into her room just to talk to her would sound… wrong at best, vulgar at worst. Neither of them had brought up the obvious tension regarding the civil war, and Lila was hoping that they never did. 

Either way, she did recognize that what she was doing wasn't smart. Breaking into a place repeatedly just to see one girl- no matter how perfect she was- was not a good idea, especially when she was bound to be on that girl’s father’s shoot to kill list eventually. 

The issue was that she just _ couldn't _ stop. It was about the _ adrenaline. _ The _ look _ on Abbie’s face when she realized Lila was back. The joy. The conversations. Every time she’d take something from Nat’s room, just to keep up the ruse, but it had long since stopped being about stealing anything at all. Except for maybe Abbie’s heart. 

And wasn’t that the most valuable thing of all? 

Not that she could act on it in anyway that she wanted too. It was whatever. 

She slipped in through the roof, her usual way. Slipping down the now familiar hallway, something felt… off. It was just off. It was midnight, long since the day had ended. Abbie was usually around this hall. But this was wrong. Something was wrong. Something was very, very, very wrong. It was in the air- the whole place seemed alive in a way it normally wasn’t. The entire hall seemed to show something that Lila couldn’t exactly see, but didn’t exactly not see. 

Her heart was racing- was Abbie in danger? Was she hurt? Who was in the compound- had they hurt Abbie? Had they taken her? What- 

Soft hands yanked her into a small room, and it was all Lila could do not to shout. Abbie’s bright blue eyes stared back at her, “Lila! What the hell are you _ doing _here?” 

“Why, princess.” She played off the panic, raking her eyes down her face and body, looking for signs of injury. “You know the drill. Thief in the night, right?” 

“Lila,” Abbie’s voice was serious, “You can’t be here right now.”

Lila’s grin dropped, hands coming to cup Abbie’s face, trailing them over her neck and down her arms, worry seeping out of her bones, with fear that something was disastrously wrong. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” 

“I’m fine- but Lila-” 

“You sure?” 

“Be quiet,” Abbie hissed, placing a hand over Lila’s mouth, and it was then Lila noticed the heavy footsteps coming down the hallway. 

“I don’t know about this, Rhodey.” 

“Come on, Tony, you know she’s been lonely here recently. What better way to make her happy than to relocate the Young Avengers here?” 

Lila felt her eyes widen, pressing closer to the wall of whatever closet they were in, slinking away from the voices on the other side of the door. That was Tony Stark. That was Tony Stark and James Rhodes. Talking about- about moving the Young Avengers into the compound- about- about making it so Lila couldn’t drop in and talk.   
  
Abbie was pressed close, lips pursed, looking at the floor, as the voices trailed off down the hall. Lila’s hands found their way to Abbie’s waist, holding her close as they got farther and farther away. 

“It’s dangerous for you right now.” Abbie’s voice was low and quiet, sparking on sad. “You- I can’t let them see you.” 

“Abbie,” she murmured, “They’re moving the young avengers in here?” 

“I- I don’t know.” 

“Abbie- if they do- you know-“ 

“I know.” She hesitated hard, finally looking back up at Lila. “I don’t really want them too. But we can deal with that later. Right now we need to get you out.” 

Lila shook her head, disbelief setting in. “We won’t ever get to see each other again, Abbie.”

“Lila- I- We need to focus on getting you out of here.” 

“I can’t sneak past the entire Young Avengers, Abbie. We- if they move in…” 

“I know.” Abbie pressed a little closer, leaning into Lila’s shoulder with her forehead. “I’m not stupid, Lila, I know what this means. But we _ can’t _ focus on that right now, we _ need _to get you out of here.” 

“Abbie-“ 

“Lila, if they find you-“ 

“Abbie, I-“ 

“-They’ll throw you out at best, at worst they’ll-“ 

“I know but Abbie-“ 

“-And I can’t afford that Lila, I can’t afford that at all-“ 

“And I can’t afford to not see you again!” 

“Lila.” Abbie’s voice was quiet and begging. “If you get caught here… I won’t be able to see you again anyway.” 

Lila’s hand found a way to Abbie’s cheek, swiping at her cheekbone. “I can’t leave you knowing that this may be the last time I see you, Abbie.” 

“I don’t want you to go.” Abbie pressed her face into the hand, kissing the palm of it gently. “But you need too.” 

“Abbie…” 

“I know, Lila.”

She didn’t know who moved first. But suddenly they were kissing, light and gentle and soft. And Lila’s heart surged, jumping into her throat, and she had to pull away before she did something they would regret- like deepen it and never let Abbie go. But she couldn’t do that. So she pulled away, just as gently as it had started. 

“No,” Abbie whispered, “No you can’t pull away now, you can’t leave.” 

“Abbie…” 

“No, Lila- now- now that I _ know _ you feel the same, I can’t- I can’t let you go.” Abbie hesitated hard. “You… you do feel the same right?”

Lila nodded, pulling away even more. “Abbie… I- we can’t be together. No matter how we feel. You know that. I know you know that.”

“Why does it matter? Why should it.” Abbie’s hands creeped into Lila’s. “Why should it matter when we have _ this _ ? _ ” _

“We can’t change what happened if your dads ever-”

“Tony and Rhodey won’t know. They don’t have too.” 

“If my family ever even know I was talking to you- to a Stark-”

“I’m a Keener first.” 

“Not to them. Not to my family.” 

Abbie brushed her lips over Lila’s- and the touch burned with emotions that Lila couldn’t think about. “Then we don’t tell them- I- I can move to New York. Be out in public more. See you more.”

“You hate the city, I can’t ask you too-”

“I can’t just- this can’t just end.” 

“I know, princess,” she whispered, capturing Abbie’s lips in another soft, delicate kiss. “I know.” 

“Lila… please… you can’t go. Not now- not now that I know. Please, I-” Abbie’s words were whispered against Lila’s lips, pulling her as close as she could, “I can’t lose you now.”

“You won’t,” Abbie looked away from her, biting her lip, “No. No, hey, Abbie… look at me.” 

She did look at her, and Lila’s breath caught in her throat. Abbie was… Abbie was beautiful. Abbie was breathtaking and stunning and for a second Lila couldn’t think beyond… beyond how amazing this girl was, “You’re not losing me, baby. You’re _ not _losing me. We just gotta… we just got to adjust. We gotta change the plan.” 

“How?” 

“How do you feel about… sneaking out. Sneaking out with each other- going on dates, doing all of that?”

“I don’t want to lie to Tony and Rhodey but-”

“You just suggested it, didn’t you?” 

“A lie of omission isn’t much of a lie.” 

“Abbie…”

“I know.” She kissed Lila again. “I’ll do it. For you.. For you, I’ll do it.” 

Lila chased her lips, softly as she could, “Please don’t push yourself-” 

“I want this, Lila,” The kisses were becoming more and more frantic, lining every word, “This.. we’ll make it work, right?” 

“Yeah, baby, we will.” Lila kissed her hard, bruising in a way that the previous kisses hadn’t been, tangling her hand in Abbie’s soft curls, and Abbie’s hands found their way to Lila’s neck. “We have to.” 

  


_ Down came her brother full of angry words _

_ And a fistful of problems yet to be heard _

_ And he delivered to me all that he had learned _

_ About defending when you're scared _

  


“Six months ago,” Abbie grinned at her, “I asked you to eat ice cream with me.” 

Lila hummed, laughing slightly. “Yes, yes you did.” 

“And you didn’t!”

“And I didn’t.” She giggled, grabbing Abbie’s hands to kiss her knuckles lightly. “And I will always regret it.”

“Weeeell,” Abbie’s face flushed, and Lila took the time to admire her pretty pink face. “You did start breaking in every week.” 

She felt her own cheeks rise in a blush. “It was not every week! Just.. occasionally. When I needed something."

“Mhmm.” Abbie’s grin was beautiful and her voice teasing, and Lila felt the air escape her lungs at the sight of it. “Sure you did. Had nothing to do with the beautiful girl you were visiting every time, huh, sweetheart?” 

“Obviously.” 

She laughed, and Lila felt so satisfied that she was the one to make her laugh that her chest puffed up in pride, but Abbie didn’t notice, just squeezing her hand. “So I am taking you out for ice cream.” 

“Oh really,” Lila smiled, squeezing back, “You’re taking me out for ice cream?” 

“Course I am. I know a place. Best mint chocolate chip in the city.” 

“According to you.” 

“Always according to me.”

“Well, princess.” She watched Abbie’s flush, grinning at the nickname’s effect on her. “If its according to you, it must absolutely be true.” 

“You’re an asshole!” 

“Ah, maybe so, but I’m _ your _asshole.”

Abbie hummed, leaning towards her to kiss her lightly, “Yes, yes you are.” 

“Aww, baby.” She kissed her deeper, relishing in the feeling of Abbie’s lips. “Always yours.” 

Abbie giggled, pulling back slightly, laughing even harder when Lila chased her lips. “And I’m yours. Now come on. Let’s go eat ice cream.” 

They walked down the street, hand in hand, giggling and chatting. Lila was so, so happy. So happy holding Abbie’s hand as they walked. So happy to hear Abbie’s laugh and know she was the reason. So in love with the girl walking next to her that she was overwhelmed with feeling. She was so, so, so, so happy.

She was so happy she didn’t see the arrow coming. 

Abbie did. 

The motion startled Lila- she knew the arrow that plunged through Abbie’s gut as Abbie threw herself on top of Lila. She couldn’t help it. She screamed. 

The next few moments were a blur in Lila’s mind as she scrambled to get Abbie to safety. The man that attacked them- Trickshot, her mind supplied. That arrow was Trickshot’s- scrambled away, and Lila picked her up. She was lucky. They were near a hospital, and Lila ran. She clutched Abbie’s pale, bleeding body to her and sprinted as fast as she could while carrying her. 

“Lila..” Abbie’s voice was distracted, heavy with pain, “It hurts-”

“I know, princess.” The hospital was closer now. “Don’t close your eyes, baby, I’ve got you, just don’t go to sleep.” 

“Hurts.” 

“I know, I know. I’ve got you, Please.” She stormed into the hospital, clutching her bleeding girlfriend. “Help! We need help!” 

The reaction was immediate. People swarmed them, taking Abbie from her arms and rushing her onto a gurney. 

Left with nothing to hold onto from Abbie, she collapsed onto a chair.   
  
_ She _ did this.

She pressed her hands together, feeling weak. Feeling like she needed a prayer. She didn’t believe in God, but Jesus if… if Abbie didn’t make it out okay she would- she didn’t know what she would do. This was her fault. This was _ her fault. _She was the reason the only girl on the planet she loved was- was- Lila bit at her knuckles in a desperate attempt to keep the tears at bay. 

“Where is she?!” Harley Keener slammed through the doors to the emergency room. “Where’s my sister.” 

The nurse at the front desk startled. “Mister Stark, please, calm down. She was brought in half an hour ago. She’s going through surgery, please- calm down.” 

“Calm down? Calm down!” Harley ran a hand through his hair, sharply pulling at it, and Lila was taken aback by how much the siblings mirrored each other. “My sister is in surgery! She- what happened?” 

“I can’t tell you.” The nurse was patient, “She came in here with her friend with an arrow in her gut.” 

Harley’s blue eyes sharply turned to Lila. “You?” 

She nodded, eyes cast down. God… They were so similar and yet- yet a cold sense of dread crept through her senses. She did this to her. She did this to Abbie. She did this to Abbie. She did this to Abbie. She glanced up at Harley’s angry eyes. “Yeah. Me.” 

“Who the _ fuck _ are you,” he growled, standing in front of her, “What the _ fuck _ were you doing with my sister? How the fuck did she get an _ arrow in her gut? _”

“Baby-” A boy Lila had never seen in the tabloids came in, and Lila immediately knew this was the Peter Parker Abbie had lovingly mentioned in regards to her brother’s boyfriend. “She’s going to be okay. Abbie’s tough. She’s got this.” 

“She-” Lila’s voice cracked, and she met both of their eyes individually, “She jumped in front of me.”

Harley hissed, tearing at his hair. “She did _ what? _What the fuck- Why the fuck did you let her do that?” 

“You…” His boyfriend had hard brown eyes, and… despite how non-intimidating she had thought he was at first glance, he was terrifying now. “Who are you?”

“My- my name’s Lila.” Recognition dawned on Harley’s face. “We- we were on a date.”

“Abbie…” His voice was shaky, underlined with rage. “Abbie does not have a girlfriend and if she did it would _ not _be the daughter of a man who fucked up our dad’s life.” 

“Don’t talk about my father like that,” she snapped, curling in on herself tighter, “And yeah- yeah I’m Abbie’s girlfriend. And maybe your fucking reaction is the reason why she didn’t want to fucking tell you guys!” 

“Don’t fucking ever insinuate Abbie would sneak around with a girl like _ you _-”

“Harley,” Peter snapped, “This won’t help Abbie. Lila.” He turned those sharp brown eyes to her. “How did this happen? Why were you getting shot at?” 

“I-” Her eyes met Harley’s and then Peter’s. “I’m-”

“You’re that Sparrow vigilante,” Harley hissed, dragging a hand roughly through his hair. “And Abbie’s dating you- you- _ fuck. _”

“Yeah, Abbie is dating me,” she spat, “She’s dating me and she knew about me being Sparrow- I didn’t hide that from her-” 

“Then why the fuck did you let her get hurt?!”

“You think I wanted her to get hurt?!” 

“Well you sure as hell didn’t stop her from getting hurt!” 

“Watch your fucking mouth, Stark, I care about her!” 

“Your fucking girlfriend’s a Stark! And you clearly don’t care enough!” 

“I tried to protect her, she- she jumped in front of me!” 

“Because that’s who she is, you asshole! She-”

“Children,” Peter hissed, “Stop! Your bickering will not make Abbie better or _ safe. _ Harley-” He turned to his boyfriend, eyes softening. “I know you’re scared. I know that Abbie is your baby sister. I know she is one of the only things in the world you love. I know you’re scared she’s not going to be okay. But she will be, baby. She’s strong. She’ll get through this.” Harley nodded quietly, leaning into his hands, and Peter turned his eyes to her again. “Lila, right?” 

She nodded warily. 

“Listen, I don’t know what is going on between you two. Stark, Barton, who cares?” His voice was serious. “What matters most is that Abbie’s hurt. So. I’m gonna ask again. How did Abbie get hurt?” 

“She-” Lila’s voice was shaky. “She jumped in front of me. She- We went out for ice cream. It’s our six month anniversary, and the night we met she offered me ice cream-” She found herself smiling at the memories. “So we went out for ice cream but… I forgot that Trickshot wanted my blood. I- I shouldn’t have been outside. Especially not with the one girl who- She jumped in front of me because I was too fucking stupid and she- she jumped in front of me.”

“Trickshot.” Harley was pacing now, violently tearing at his hair. “You got my baby sister- my baby sister who doesn’t know how to fight involved with _ Trickshot.” _

“I- She jumped in front of me.” Lila felt her voice break. “Why did she jump in front of me?” 

Peter was the one who spoke. “Because she’s Abbie Keener, and she would die for anyone she cares about.”

“Keener-Stark?” 

Harley’s head shot up, and he rushed towards the nurse. “That’s- I’m her brother- is she, is she okay?” 

“We’ll need to contact Mr. Stark and Mr. Rhodes before we go forward with any sort of serious treatment.” The nurse tittered, clearly nervous at being the one to say that they performed surgery on James Rhodes and Tony Stark’s daughter. “However, we’ve got her stable and she’s expected to make a full recovery.” 

“Thank God.” Harley’s voice was broken, and Lila felt her own body sag in relief, as Peter made a motion to hug his now sobbing boyfriend. “She’s going to be okay- she’s going- Pete she- she-” 

The nurse hesitated for a second. “She can have visitors.” 

“Thank you- I-” He rubbed as his cheeks, wiping away tears. “I’ll go see her.”

Lila stood, legs shaky. “Can- Can I see her, please?” 

“No,” Harley turned to her sharply. “You can’t.”

Peter gripped his boyfriends hand, looking at her with hard set eyes, “You should go, Lila. Before Mr. Stark and Mr. Rhodes get here.” 

She nodded, tension in her bones. She did this. She hurt Abbie. She slipped out of the building, unnoticed by the armors landing at the front of the hospital. 

  


_ Away she went tucked into his coat _

_ With her head turned back and her cheeks made rose _

_ As I lay there with my eyes half-closed _

_ On her father's basement porch _

  


In reality, Lila should be happy. 

From anyone else’s perspective her life was going great. Her dad had been smuggled back to America by King T’Challa and she had a family again. Her Aunt Nat was teaching her how to fight more solidly. She had Steve Rogers teaching her and Nath to draw. Bucky Barnes liked to help her bake- and Wanda and her gossiped about anything and everything, like they were sisters. Sam was always there to help Nath and Cooper and her with absolutely anything. Lang up and left to go see his daughter a few days in, but she suspected he was happy too. 

So. In all reality, she should be happy. 

But she wasn’t. 

It had been one week, four days, and three minutes since she last saw Abbie. Since she had gotten Abbie hurt. And she… she felt low. Really low. She was responsible for getting Abbie hurt and she hated it. She hated the pain in her chest when she breathed too deeply and remembered that she… she would never see Abbie again. Not if it meant her getting hurt.

She pretended not to notice her parents’ worried glances as she picked at her food lazily. She felt too sick to eat much these days. 

“Hey, sweetie?” 

She glanced up at her dad. “Yeah?” 

“C’mon.” He motioned his head outside. “Let’s go for a walk.” 

She nodded quietly, ignoring the worried look all of the Rogues were throwing her way. She stepped out into the cold air and was reminded that it was not summer anymore. The days where she and Abbie snuck down to the pool in the compound were long gone. Everything between her and Abbie was long gone. She had gotten Abbie _ hurt. _She felt even more miserable than she did when she had left. 

“What’s eating you, sweetheart?” 

“I-” She shook her head. “Nothing, Dad. I’m happy.” 

He sent her a look. “Lila Artemis Barton, don’t lie to me. I know when my baby girl isn’t happy.”

“Dad, it’s…” She glanced at the sky, remembering all the times she had gone stargazing with Abbie. 

_ Sagittarius, _ Abbie had whispered, pointing towards the sky, _ That’s my favorite. _

Lila had just laughed, _ Why on God’s earth would that be your favorite? _

_ Oh, you haven’t heard? _ Abbie’s eyes had twinkled and Lila was still struck that the girl in front of her was better than any sky view. _ It’s the archer. _

Clint put a hand on her shoulder, jostling her out of the memory. “It’s?” 

“Has… has someone ever gotten hurt because of something you’ve done?” 

“Well,” he started slowly, “I guess it depends on what you mean. I’ve hurt plenty of bad people before. But people I love? Yeah. I’ve hurt people I love- never on purpose, but yes. I have.” 

“How did you… how did you fix it?” 

“With an apology.” His eyes were far away, like he was remembering something from a long time ago. Probably something that had happened in Budapest. “And then by never letting them feel alone.”

Lila just felt more sick. “But-” 

“Clint, Lila,” Steve called from inside, worry in his voice, “You guys might want to come see this. Something’s happened.” 

Both of them rushed inside, only to find their family crowded around a TV- a Stark Industries press release. 

“-as you may or may not know,” Tony was uncharacteristically not put together, “My daughter was attacked last week-” 

“Tony has a daughter?!” 

“That’s fucking rich! What does Stark know about family what with how he kept me from-”   
  
“Stark has a daughter who was attacked? He can’t even protect her!” 

“Everybody, shut up!” Lila found her voice more commanding than she had meant to make it, but she continued, “We need to hear this.” 

“-and now… we ask for your help again. She- Abbie was-” Stark’s voice broke, and his husband rushed in to hold his hand. Lila was holding her breath, “We have reason to believe Abbie was kidnapped. She- she could barely walk, and yet- she’s missing. So please, if you have _ any _information on my daughter or her whereabouts, please, please, contact Stark Industries or the New York Police.”

Harley Keener stepped forward, looking worse than he did in the hospital. “Please.. My sister she’s- she’s really badly hurt. We would do _ anything _to get her back.”

Lila felt dred sink in her stomach and she suddenly couldn’t breathe. 

“That’s horrible,” her mom whispered, suddenly holding Nathaniel a little tighter. “I know those Starks are a bad lot but…” 

“No one deserves to have their kids taken from them.” 

Clint’s voice was hard, and Lila could tell her was thinking of his own time in exile, away from his kids. She wanted to scream at the injustice of it all, but she had bigger things to worry about. 

“Hey, I think I’m gonna go to bed,” she whispered into a room of people bickering about Stark and _ Abbie _, knowing she wouldn’t be heard. “See you guys in the morning.” 

She slipped into her room, pressing close to her door once it was closed. Abbie was missing. Abbie was _ missing. _ Her Abbie. Her Abbie who was _ hurt _ and missing and could be dying and she had to fix this she had to fix- 

“You’ve been ignoring my texts.” 

She slammed her body around, stunned to find Abbie sitting up shakily on her bed. “Holy shit- Abbie- you-” 

“Lila.” Abbie frowned at her, and even in the darkness of the room, Lila couldn’t breathe because of how stunning she was. “You’ve been ignoring my texts, and I thought- did I do something wrong?”

“No,” she breathed, and she found herself stepping closer. “No, princess, you didn’t do anything wrong.” 

“Thank God- I thought- I thought-” 

“God, Abbie,” Lila whispered, sitting on the bed next to Abbie and pulling her into her lap, cradling her in her arms, “I thought- oh God I thought you were kidnapped or-” 

Abbie’s hands moved themselves through Lila’s hair. “No. I wasn’t. Tony’s just over dramatic, and Peter helped me sneak out. I just- I needed to see you. I needed to know why you weren’t answering me back.” 

“Because I’m bad for you baby,” she whispered into Abbie’s skin, “I’m bad for you. You got hurt because of me.” 

“First Harley, then Tony, and now you? When will everyone realize that I chose to jump in front of you. I chose that. And I would choose it again without hesitation.”

“Don’t say that, princess. Please don’t.” 

“Lila, I lo-”

“We need to break up.”

Abbie tensed in her arms, “What?” 

“We need to break up, Abbie, I-” Her voice cracked, and she couldn’t look Abbie in the eye. “I’m the reason you got hurt. We need to break up.” 

“You-” Abbie pushed away from her, standing on shaky legs, clutching the frame of Lila’s bed. “You want to break up?” 

She winced, staring at Abbie’s shaking form. “I’m not good enough for you- I’ll just get you hurt.” 

“No!” Abbie cried sharply, “No! If you’re going to break up with me, do it because you actually want to! Not because you think you’re not good enough!”   
  
“Abbie-” 

_ “Lila-” _Her voice was sharp. “Tell me right now you actually want to break up with me.” 

Lila looked away. She bit her lip. She didn’t meet Abbie’s eyes. “Yes.”

“You- you LIAR!” 

“Abbie-”   
  
“Don’t lie to me, Barton! Not about this!” Abbie was crying now, and Lila felt close to tears herself. “Not about us! We said we were going to make this work- you- you promised me we would make this work!” 

“Abbie, I can’t date you when I know I’m going to hurt you! I’m not good enough for you!” 

“YES, YOU ARE!” 

“NO ABBIE, I’M NOT! I’M NOT! YOU GOT FUCKING SHOT WITH AN ARROW BECAUSE OF ME!” 

Abbie scoffed, “I got shot with an arrow because I decided to protect the girl I lo-”

“Don’t say it.”   
  
“Don’t say what? The truth?!” 

“Don’t say you love me, because then it will be so, so much harder to end it.” 

“You- you bastard,” Abbie was sobbing into her hands, and Lila wanted to go to her but she _ couldn’t _ because she was the _ cause of her pain _ and this was bad, she was bad. “You- Lila- I got hurt because I didn’t want you to get hurt- I couldn’t let you get hurt- please, please, don’t punish me for trying to save you- Lila!” 

“Abbie, God, Abbie,” She felt her impulse snap and she tugged Abbie into her arms again, kissing all over her face. “I’m here- I- I don’t want to break up but you can’t do that- you _ can’t _get hurt because of me.” 

“Lila,” Abbie sobbed into her shoulder, clutching her girlfriend close. “You can’t leave me, please don’t-”

“Never, Abbie, never- I would never ever leave you- I-” 

“What.” Lila’s father’s voice was sharp and angry. “Is going on up here.”

Lila tensed, placing herself between Abbie and her dad, clutching Abbie’s hand. “Nothing- Nothing.” 

“Lila,” Abbie whispered frantically, pressing closer to Lila, “That’s-” 

“Lila, Abigail.” Her Aunty Nat looked disappointed and it stung Lila, but she kept her grip on Abbie strong. “I think you two have a lot of explaining to do.”   


_ I fell for the inventor's daughter _

_ With a cold washrag and a bloody collar _

_ And a puffy smile and a head raised taller _

_ Than before I took his swing _

  


“-of all the stupid, irresponsible, horrible things you can do, you’re sneaking behind your families’ back and- and-” Clint Barton whirled on his daughter. “And screwing with Stark’s kid! Do you know what he’s done?! To me?! To our family?!” 

Abbie pressed closer to Lila, squeezing her hand, “Sir-” 

Clint shot her a look. “Stark, your dads are on their way. You would be absolutely be wise to shut up.”

“Don’t talk to her like that.” Lila stood up, meeting her father eye to eye. “She doesn’t deserve that.”

“Sit down,” he snarled, “You’re grounded beyond measure.” 

“That’s not fair-” 

“No, what’s not fair is you sneaking behind mine and your mother’s backs-” 

“I was not sneaking-” 

“Really?! Because that’s what it looked like!” 

“Oh that’s rich coming from Mr. Super Spy! How many times did you lie to Mom?! How many times did you fucking leave us to do some crazy ass shit?! You blame Stark constantly for keeping you away from us and yet you still fucking left in the first place!” 

“_ Lila Artemis- _”

“Both of you!” Abbie’s voice was a squeak, compared to the loud boom of the two shouting. “Stop! Lila-” She grabbed at her girlfriend’s hand. “You don’t mean that. I know you don’t. In all of the time I’ve known you, you’ve adored your dad and the work he does. You have _ always _wanted to do what he does. You have always wanted to follow in his footsteps. So sit down, and calm down, before you say something you’ll regret.”

She turned to Clint, fear evident in her face as she spoke, but her chin was held high and her eyes set. “Sir, you can’t blame Lila for this. It’s my fault. I was the one who kissed her first. I initiated this relationship. If you’re going to yell at anyone, yell at me.” 

“Abbie,” Lila hissed, “No. I broke into the compound first- you can’t try to take the blame for this.” 

Abbie’s face didn’t change as she stared at Clint. “Yes, Lila, I can.” 

“No, you can’t-” 

“Where is she?!” Tony Stark’s panicked voice rang out, and he stormed into the house, eyes immediately narrowing in on Abbie, stepping towards her and pulling her away from the Bartons. “What the hell happened?” 

Steve stepped forward from where he was in the kitchen. “Tony-” 

“Don’t get your panties in a twist, Rogers.” Stark narrowed his eyes at them, placing himself in front of his daughter. “I’ve known where you guys where since you broke out of The Raft-” 

“-oh of course you did, fucking smart ass-” 

“Can it Barton! I don’t give a shit, but your daughter fucking defiled my daughter and almost killed her-” 

“DON’T FUCKING SAY THAT ABOUT LILA-” 

“Stop! Both of you! Stop!” Lila stepped foreward, and Abbie rushed around her dad to grip at Lila’s arms, pressing close, sending begging looks to Tony and her family, as more and more Starks trickled in. “This isn’t about your stupid rivalry! This isn’t about the civil war! This isn’t about any of that!” 

“Then what is it about?” Natasha’s voice was sharp. “If this isn’t about that, what is it about.” 

“It’s about- it’s about,” She glanced down at Abbie. “It’s about-” 

“It’s about us,” Abbie whispered, gripping Lila’s arm, “It’s about me and Lila and what we feel for each other.”

Harley ran a hand through his hair, stepping closer to Abbie. “Abbie. Come here. We’re going home.” 

“No, Harley.” Her voice was quiet. “I won’t leave her.” 

“Yes, yes you will.” Laura Barton stepped forward. “I don’t want my daughter involved with a person like you- with a family like yours.” 

“Mom!” 

“Mrs. Barton-”

“We’re not doing this.” Her voice was firm. “I don’t know how you Starks are going to approach this, but Lila? You’re grounded. And you are _ not _allowed to see Abigail ever again. You kept this from us, and even more, you’re involved with the daughter of the man who destroyed our family for a year.” 

“As much as I disagree with that statement considering your husband broke federal law,” Tony sounded tired, and Lila felt Abbie flinch at his tone. “I completely agree. Abbie… you’re sixteen, you do not need to be involved with a girl who’s sneaking out to be a super spy- she got you shot with an arrow!” 

Her parents heads whipped to her, and her dad paled with rage, “Lila, you _ what?!” _

“Oh you didn’t know?!” Tony snarled, “Your daughter has been moonlighting as Sparrow and two weeks ago, she got my kid shot! With an arrow!” 

Abbie clutched Lila’s arm tightly. “I jumped in front of her- not- she did_ not _get me shot.” 

“It doesn’t matter,” Tony hissed, “We’re leaving.” 

“No, Dad- please-”

“Abbie-” Lila held her tight, speaking quietly. “It’s okay- it- it’ll be okay.” 

“No, no, it will _ not be,” _ Clint stepped forward, pulling Lila to his side. “You have been acting as a vigilante?! Even if you hadn’t been messing around with a _ Stark _ you- you’re not allowed to do this!”

Before she could respond, Harley reached for Abbie, pulling her towards him. “Come on, we’re leaving.” 

“That we are.” Tony sent a glare at the Rogues, before narrowing down on Lila. “Never ever speak to my daughter again.” 

Her family filed onto porch, Clint’s hand wrapped firmly on her shoulder as they watched Abbie and the Starks get closer and closer to whatever plane had taken them here. She couldn’t breathe. It was so… so heartbreaking. They- they said they were going to make this work. Abbie sent a pleading look over her shoulder. 

Lila made a split second decision, tearing away from her dad, sprinting to the plane, and she saw Abbie tear away from Harley. 

“Abbie!” 

“Lila!” 

They slammed into each other, finding their way into a desperate kiss. Lila whipped away her tears, hissing against her lips, “We’ll find a way. We will.” 

“Always.” Abbie peppered kisses all over Lila’s face. “I’ll be waiting for you, anywhere. Send me a sign- send me a sparrow, and you know I’ll be there-” 

“Abbie-”   
  
“Lila-” 

She cut her off with a kiss, “No matter what they say, we’re together. We’ve got this I-” 

And suddenly Abbie was being taken away from her arms, Harley staring sadly at both of them. “C’mon Abbie… we gotta go home.” 

“No,” Abbie’s voice cracked and she scrambled away from her brother, trying to get back to Lila, and Lila had to stop herself from breaking down right then and there. “No, no- no Harley please- no!” 

“Abbie…” Lila’s voice was soft. “Go with them-”

“No, no please- Lila- this can’t be the end!” Harley’s grip on her tightened, and Lila saw the regret flash on his face. “Please, Harley- she- I-” 

"I know, Abbs.” Harley made eye contact with Lila as he spoke. “You’ll be okay. It’s going to be okay.” 

Lila turned away, while Harley dragged his sister away. She met her father’s eyes. She walked past her family, into her house. She watched the plane Abbie was on take off. 

They would see each other again. They had too.

  


_ I fell for her curious eyes _

_ And her friendly hands left open wide _

_ For me to see what's been inside _

_ Since my coin first ran away _

  


Their secret meetings were small. Brief things, that barely satisfied either of them. Quiet things, full of soft kisses and small tears. In places that neither of their families knew existed. A small field outside Rose Hill. A strawberry patch near Lila’s house. A treehouse on the far side of the compounds land. their

They were there now, soft kisses, a lingering hands. 

“Lila?” 

She paused her gentle assault on Abbie’s neck. “Yeah, baby?” 

“I love you.” 

“Oh, Abbie... I love you too.” 

“Lila… I want.. I want a future with you,” Abbie hesitated, “I- I don’t know if you want the same but-”

“Of course I want the same.” Lila kissed her again, peppering all of Abbie’s freckles with soft kisses. “Of course I do. You- you’re my world, Abbie.” 

“Then… then we need to stop sneaking around.” Abbie’s voice sounded scared, hesitant, and Lila would give anything to take that fear out of her voice. “I don’t like lying to my dads and I know you must hate lying to your family… and I.. I don’t want this to be a secret, not anymore.” 

“Okay. Abbie?” 

“Yeah?”

“I love you.” 

“I love you _ more.” _

“Impossible. I’ve loved you since we met.” 

“Oh… oh Lila..” She was smiling, soft and timid and beautiful, “How are we going to convince our families to be okay with this?” 

“I don’t know. We’ll figure it out.” 

“I love you so, so, so much, Lila. I refuse to let our families keep us apart.” 

“I know. I- We’ll have to convince them.”

“Okay.”   


_ And she is like a stick layed down _

_ And a white flag torn from a wedding gown _

_ In a dress-up box from a childhood town in her father's memory _

  


She couldn’t imagine this working, and yet, here her mom and dad was, standing in the living room of the Stark Tower, waiting for her girlfriend to bring her parents into the room.   
  
“Rude of Stark not to greet us here,” Clint narrowed his eyes at Lila. “Since he invited us.” 

Abbie stepped into the room. “My dads are just… a little late. They’ll be here. You know my dad. He likes to make an entrance.” 

“Hey Abbie have you-” Harley walked into the room, freezing. “What the fuck?” 

“Shit- Harley-”

“I’m getting Dad-” 

“Your father already knows we’re here!” 

“No the hell he doesn’t.” Rhodey managed to make his way to the door, taking in the scene before launching himself into the room. “Get out! Why are you here?!” 

“We were invited here!”

“Stop!” Abbie held out her hands, stepping in between them. “Stop! Give us a second to explain!”

Clint scoffed, “You two schemed this didn’t-”

“You,” Tony snarled, eyes angry as he stormed into the room, “What are all of you doing here?” 

“I invited them here.” Abbie’s voice was quiet, but powerful against the chaos unfolding in front of them. “I asked them to come here, Dad. Stand down.” 

Harley whirled onto Abbie, “You did what?! Abbie!! Why the hell would you invite them here?!” 

“I-“ She sent a desperate look to Lila. “We-“ 

“Wait,” Clint pressed a hand to his nose. “Stark didn’t ask us here to apologize for Abbie’s behavior-“ 

“My daughter has done nothing wrong-“ 

“Except invite you guys here,” Harley snarled, “Which she should never have done!” 

Lila reached for her hand, linking their fingers. “We wanted to ask for you to get over yourselves and let us be _ happy.” _

“Well.” Abbie stomped on her foot lightly, no animosity behind it. “Kind of. We were- we were hoping you both would see reason and give us your blessing.” 

“No!” 

“Absolutely not!” 

“Never!” 

“Finally!” Tony snapped into the air, “Something we can agree on!” 

Abbie shook her head, her grip on Lila’s hand tightening. Lila squeezed back, comfortingly, “Please, Mr. Stark, Colonel Rhodes, Dad, Mom, Harley- just- just listen to us. Please.” 

“Okay-” Rhodey sat down, his leg braces creaking. “Tell us your story then.” 

The rest of the group followed his lead, sending untrusting glances between the families. Lila took a shaky breath, before Abbie squeezed her hand. They could do this.

“We- we met-” Lila smiled slightly. “We met because I was trying to piss off Stark and steal back the necklace Aunty Nat had said she was going to give me when I turned sixteen. It was- it was a statement but… but I miscalculated. I thought that no one would be in the compound.” 

Abbie smiled even smaller, fondness on her face. “But I was. And it… it was funny. It felt like it was a bad fanfiction. She got startled and pinned me to the wall.” 

“And Abbie, ever the witty,” Lila let herself relax, grinning at her girlfriend, “Told me to either kill her or kiss her so she could have the real fanfiction experience and I- I was smitten immediately. And then she did something dumb; she asked me to get ice cream with her.” 

“In my defense, I was very gay and very, very flustered!” 

Lila rolled her eyes, “I had just broken into your house to steal a necklace, and you wanted me to get ice cream with you!” 

“Alright, alright,” Tony snapped, still tense, although seeing his daughter happy seemingly relaxed him slightly, “You two are very cute. Get back to convincing us.” 

“Right, right,” Lila said, nodding. “Of course. We- I kept breaking in. Just to see her.” 

“She’d make up different things to steal, and then leave empty handed.” 

“Eventually… we decided to date- but.” Lila was quiet and her smile soft as she remembered. “We needed to keep it secret we- we knew you guys wouldn’t approve. We knew it would be- it was just too much. Dad- you were still in Wakanda, and Mom raved against Abbie’s family constantly and- and I’m sure the Starks did the same with mine.” 

“We went on dates though.” Abbie pressed closely to Lila. “Every time we could manage to get out and be together, we went on dates and it- it was perfect. It was amazing- and I- I love her. So… please… please, please don’t take her away from me, she- I-”  
  
“We don’t want to be separated,” Lila whispered, “We- I’m in love with her. She’s in love with me. We’re together in this. Please.”

Harley spoke first, staring at Abbie. “Are you sure about this?” 

“Yes, Harley.” Her voice was quiet, but strong. “She- yes. I am sure.” 

“And you.” Harley’s eyes flicked to Lila. “You’re sure?” 

“I love Abbie.” 

The entire room had a sharp intake of breath, and Harley sighed softly, looking at Lila, “I don’t like you.” 

Abbie tensed, tightening her hold on Lila. “Harley, don’t-”

“Let me finish, Abbie.” He leaned his elbows onto his knees, pressing his palms together. “I don’t like you, Barton. I don’t think you’re good for my sister. I think that your family has done some terrible, awful things. I think that you aren’t responsible enough to be the hero you’re trying to be. I think you’re horrible and awful and I think you could get my sister hurt very, very, very badly.”

“Wow… thanks for the vote of confidence.”

“Barton, I’m trying to make a point here,” Harley deadpanned, before sighing again, “But you make her happy. And you clearly try your hardest. Abbie… Abbie doesn’t shut up about you. Ever since you two have been ‘broken up’ she- she’s been sad. And I don’t like seeing my sister sad. She- When our mom died, I promised her that I would look out for Abbie. Would look out for her happiness. So… if you… if you are serious about this then… then I give my blessing.” 

Abbie breathed out, quietly, “Harley…”

“And really…” He grinned, trying to make a joke, “My blessing is the only one that matters when it comes to Abbie. I’m her big brother.” 

Tony made a noise of protest. “No! Absolutely not! I’m her dad, and my blessing matters!” 

“Oh,” Harley raised a brow. “And are you giving it?” 

Lila held her breath, “Please sir- I know- I know our families don’t get along-” 

“Shove off it, mini arrow,” Tony sighed, “As much as I loath to say it, Harley is right. You… clearly make Abbie happy. As much as I hate it, I’m not gonna let her be unhappy. So.. as long as your parents agree to it… then I do too."

“See,” Clint groaned, “Here’s my issue. You two did this- snuck behind our backs, went around without our permission, and then decided that when we said ‘no’ you would sneak out anyway.” 

Lila looked to the ground, and pressed herself closer to Abbie, seeking comfort. Clint sighed, “However. I don’t think it was right of us to judge Abbie just because she’s a Stark. Starks…” He chose his next words hesitantly. “Can be not so intolerable. And… if this is what _ you _want well… baby girl, I have been with you every step of the way, and I don’t want to miss out on whatever this is just because I don’t really approve of who the girl is.” 

“And-” Laura was quieter than her husband. “We are sorry we made you think you couldn’t come to us with your relationship. We never meant to do that to you, Lila.” 

“Mom, Dad,” Lila wanted to cry, “Thank you- I- I never wanted to hide this from you but-”

“We made you feel like you had to,” Laura hummed quietly, “And that wasn’t fair to you.” 

Rhodey shook his head, “I’m sorry, Abbie, Lila. You two… didn’t deserve to get caught up in this drama. This was… both sides of this fight got hurt in this but… you two didn’t ask to be part of these sides. You two deserve to be happy on your own.” 

“So this-” Abbie’s voice was hopeful as she stared at the adults in the room. “This.. you’re giving us permission?” 

“Yes. I think we are,” Tony nodded. “However, there’s going to be some minor changes. No more sneaking out and you-” He pointed his finger at Abbie. “Are still grounded.”

She giggled, “Thanks, Dad.” 

“Oh, ditto,” Laura nodded, motioning to Tony. “Both of you are still grounded.” 

“I wouldn’t expect anything else,” Lila grinned. “But for what it’s worth… thank you. So, so, so much.” 

“I’m just glad you guys didn’t Romeo and Juliet us.” 

Abbie snorted, “Oh we thought about it, but we figured that would probably just make you angrier.”

“She gets it!” Tony pointed at her, nudging Clint’s shoulder. “Isn’t she brilliant? She gets it!” 

“Knock it off, Tin Man,” Clint snorted, “It was probably Lila that made her realize!” 

“How dare!” 

Lila leaned over to Abbie, whispering in her ear, “I think they’re on the way to forgiving each other.” 

“I think so too,” Abbie placed a gentle kiss on Lila’s cheek. “Wanna go get ice cream as they bicker?”   
  
“Oh, princess, you read my mind.” 

  


_ And he is like a bulb made bright _

_ That flickers when you just want it to stay light _

_ Every time that he thinks the night is looking his way _

  


Abbie woke up slowly and quietly. The night before had been amazing, full of soft kisses and cuddling and bad movies. They had fallen asleep in each other’s arms, and in Lila’s arms was where she woke up. 

She smiled. 

This girl… this amazing, this wonderful, this fantastic girl had her arms around her and was slowly breathing in and out. This marvelous girl, who made her so, so happy, was here. In front of her. They were _ together. _They were together, here, in public. With each other. 

She kissed Lila’s forehead. 

She was so lucky. And so… so… so… in love. 

But then again, she had been in love with Lila since the moment she had pinned Abbie to the wall with a knife.   


_ I fell for the beggar's son _

_ In the puddled porch with his shoes undone _

_ And the silver coin that had made him come _

_ Into the yellow light _

**Author's Note:**

> Shout out to my blue bird, Ava, or @Charliebradburyismyspirit-animal on tumblr!
> 
> You can hit me up @Peachy-Keener!!
> 
> please,, tell me what you think. 
> 
> IS this fic almost 10,000 words of my dumbass crack ship? Maybe so.


End file.
